Water Toy Gun

ABSTRACT

A water toy gun has a barrel including a nozzle, a handgrip with a trigger on the barrel, and a reservoir in the barrel for containing water. A manually-operated piston-in-cylinder associated with the barrel is included for increasing the pressure of water in the reservoir to thereby eject water out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger. The barrel has a front barrel portion including the nozzle and a rear barrel portion. The reservoir is formed by a front chamber provided in the front barrel portion and a rear chamber provided in the rear barrel portion. The handgrip is located at a position between the front and rear barrel portions to assist in balancing the weight of water in the front and rear chambers.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a water toy gun.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Water toy guns are popular and fun to play with, but the frequent needsto refill them with water is cumbersome. Although a larger gun canincorporate a larger chamber (or bottle) to hold more water forprolonged shooting, the increase in weight may render the gun difficultto hold especially for kids.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to overcome or to substantiallyameliorate such a shortcoming by providing a new or otherwise improvedwater toy gun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a water toy gun comprisinga barrel including a nozzle, a handgrip on the barrel, the handgripincluding a trigger, and a reservoir in the barrel for containing water.A manually-operated pressurizing device associated with the barrel isincluded for increasing the pressure of water in the reservoir tothereby eject water out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger. Thebarrel has a front barrel portion including the nozzle and a rear barrelportion. The reservoir has a front chamber provided in the front barrelportion and a rear chamber provided in the rear barrel portion. Thehandgrip is located at a position between the front and rear barrelportions to assist in balancing the weight of water in the front andrear chambers.

Preferably, the front and rear chambers are interconnected by a waterpassage.

More preferably, the water passage has a size considerably smaller thanthat of the front and rear chambers.

Preferably, the pressurizing device has a resiliently deformable bladderconnected to the nozzle and includes a piston-in-cylinder. The cylinderhas a first end into which the piston slidably extends and a second endconnected to the reservoir and bladder for communication therewith via avalve assembly. The valve assembly is arranged to enable discharging ofwater from the reservoir upon sliding of the piston relative to thecylinder in one direction and to enable charging of water into thebladder upon sliding of the piston relative to the cylinder in anopposite direction. The water in the bladder is ejected out via thenozzle upon pressing of the trigger as the bladder contracts.

More preferably, the bladder is located in the front chamber.

Further more preferably, the rear chamber has an opening via which thereservoir is to be filled with water, the opening being closable by astopper.

It is preferred that the second end of the cylinder is connected to therear chamber.

It is preferred that the valve assembly comprises a first valve in theconnection of the second end of the cylinder to the reservoir and asecond valve in the connection of the second end of the cylinder to thebladder.

It is further preferred that at least one of the first and second valvescomprises a spring-loaded valve.

In a specific construction, the piston-in-cylinder extends across andunderneath the front and rear chambers.

In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle is controlled by a valve operableby the trigger which is spring-loaded to normally close the valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a water toy gun inaccordance with the invention, being held by a player;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view as in FIG. 1, showing the toy gun alone;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the toy gun of FIG. 2, showinga chamber in the toy gun being filled with water;

FIG. 3 a is an enlarged cross-sectional side view showing the detailedconstruction of a valve assembly in the toy gun of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view as in FIG. 3, showing apressurizing device of the toy gun in initial action for pressurizingwater in the gun;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view as in FIG. 4, showing thepressurizing device in subsequent action pressurizing the water;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view as in FIG. 5, showing the toy gunejecting water upon pulling of a trigger thereof;

FIGS. 7 a, 7 b and 7 c are perspective views showing a nozzle at thefront end of the toy gun of FIG. 1, for ejecting water in differentpatterns; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of a slightly different embodimentof a water toy gun in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7 c of the drawings, there is shown a water toygun 100 embodying the invention resembling a machine gun, whichcomprises a body or barrel 110 including a front nozzle 120, an integralhandgrip 90 on the barrel 110, and a reservoir 130 in the barrel 110 forcontaining water. The handgrip 90 includes a slidable trigger 91 forpressing or pulling by the index finger of a player while he/she isholding the toy gun 100 by one of his hands gripping upon the handgrip90 (FIG. 1). There is also a manually-operated pressurizing device 140associated with the barrel 110 for increasing the pressure of water inthe reservoir 130 to thereby eject water out via the nozzle 120 uponpressing of the trigger 91.

The barrel 110 has a front barrel portion 111 including the nozzle 120and a rear barrel portion 112. The reservoir 130 has a round frontchamber 131 located in the front barrel portion 111 and a round rearchamber 132 in the rear barrel portion 112. The front and rear chambers131 and 132 are interconnected by a tube 133 which acts as a waterpassage allowing water to flow from one chamber 131/132 to the otherchamber 132/131. The two chambers 131 and 132, together with the tube133 between them, form the reservoir 130.

The rear chamber 132 has an uppermost opening 132A via which thereservoir 130 is to be filled with water, which opening 132A is normallyclosed by a stopper in the form of a screw cap 132B. The front chamber131 has a front-facing opening 131A right behind the nozzle 120.

The barrel 110 is a hollow plastic structure, which in itself is notparticularly heavy. The front and rear chambers 131 and 132 are ofgenerally the same volume. The tube 133 has a cross-section considerablysmaller than that of the two chambers 131 and 132, being a thin tubewhich only holds a small amount of water compared with the chambers 131and 132. With the reservoir 130 being filled up with water, the majorityof the weight of the overall toy gun 100 is attributed to the twovolumes of water contained in the front and rear chambers 131 and 132.

The handgrip 90 is located at a position between the front and rearbarrel portions 111 and 112 and in particular right between the frontand rear chambers 131 and 132. Such a centre position of the handgrip 90assists in balancing the weight of water in the front and rear chambers131 and 132 on opposite sides of the handgrip 90, by which the toy gun100 is to be held which the toy gun 100 is being played with.

The interconnecting water passage 133 may be of any other suitabledesigns or dimensions. It is preferably thin to hold considerably lesswater than the two chambers 131 and 132 such that water can bedistributed between the two chambers 131 and 132, whilst being hinderedfrom sloshing to one side, for better balancing the weight of water onopposite sides of the handgrip 90. A thin water passage 133 also givesroom to the handgrip 90.

It is, however, envisaged that the water passage may, for example, be aswide as the chambers 131 and 132 such that the two chambers 131 and 132merge with each other to appear as one bottle of the largest possiblesize in order to hold more water for extended play.

The pressurizing device 140 is formed by a resiliently deformable rubberbladder 141 connected to the nozzle 120 and includes apiston-in-cylinder pump 142/143. The bladder 141 resembles a balloonhaving a wide mouth. The bladder 141 is inserted into the front chamber131 through the latter's opening 131A, with its mouth disposed aroundthe opening 131A and sealed therewith by a screw cap 131B. The bladder141 constitutes an inner part of the front chamber 131. The cap 131B hasan outlet hole 131C which is connected by a small tube via a ball valve80 to the nozzle 120, and includes an inlet hole 131D connected to thecylinder 143.

The cylinder 143 is slender, and the piston 142 has a shaft 142Aconnected to a handle 142B by which the piston 142 is to be manuallyslid in opposite directions along the cylinder 143. Thepiston-in-cylinder pump 142/143 extends across and underneath the frontand rear chambers 131 and 132.

The cylinder 143 has a first end 143A into which the piston 142 slidablyextends and a second end 143B which is connected by respective pipes 71and 72 to the reservoir 130 and bladder 141 for communication therewithvia a valve assembly 150. More specifically, the first pipe 71, asprovided by a small pipe elbow, is connected to a lowermost part of therear chamber 132 such that water from the rear chamber 132 can readilyenter the cylinder 143. The second pipe 72, which is much longer andflexible, guides water from the cylinder 143 into the bladder 141 viathe inlet hole 131D of the cap 131B.

As best shown in FIG. 3 a, the valve assembly 150 is formed by threeseparate, first, second and third spring-loaded valves 151, 152 and 153in a looped housing which has three ports connected to the pump 142/143,the rear chamber 132 and the bladder 141. The first valve 151 is used inthe connection of the second end 143B of the cylinder 143 (i.e. thepump) to the rear chamber 132 to enable discharging of water from thereservoir 130 into the cylinder 143, upon sliding of the piston 142relative to the cylinder 143 in the outward direction (FIG. 4). Thesecond valve 152 is arranged in the connection of the second end 143B ofthe cylinder 143 to the bladder 141 for charging (i.e. pumping) waterfrom the cylinder 143 into the bladder 141, upon sliding of the piston142 relative to the cylinder 143 in the opposite inward direction (FIG.5).

The third valve 153 is connected from the bladder 141 to the rearchamber 132 for preventing over-pressure in the bladder 141 by releasingwater from the bladder 141 back into the rear chamber 132 while the pump142/143 is pumping water into the bladder 141, in case too much water isbeing pumped into the bladder 141.

The water being injected into the bladder 141 causes the bladder 141 toexpand (FIG. 5), and this results an increase in the pressure of thewater in the bladder 141, or generally in the reservoir 130, as therubber material of the bladder 141 is stretched. The pressurized wateris in a state ready to be squirted or ejected out of the bladder 141 viathe outlet hole 131C through the nozzle 120, but the valve 80 is closed.

The valve 80 is operated by a lever 93 which is coupled by a bar link 92to the trigger 91. The trigger 91 is spring-loaded forwards (i.e.raised) such that the valve 80 is normally-closed, hence normallyclosing the nozzle 120. Upon pulling of the trigger 91, the valve 80 andhence the nozzle 120 is opened to release the pressurized water in thebladder 141, which is then ejected out from the nozzle 120 of the toygun 100, as the bladder 141 contracts (FIG. 6).

The nozzle 120 is provided on a front cap 121 which bears two additionalnozzles 120A and 120B. The cap 121 may be turned by the player toselectively align one of the nozzles 120/120A/120B with the outlet hole131C of the bladder 141 for ejecting water in different patterns, suchas a conical spray, a broad jet and a fine jet (FIGS. 7 a to 7 c).

The bladder 141 will take up the majority of room in the front chamber131 when it is fully expanded, whilst containing most of the water inthe front chamber 131. The bladder 141 is part of the reservoir 130, letalone being an inner part of the front chamber 131 or connected to therest of the reservoir 130, because it holds water and in a substantialquantity when it is fully loaded.

Referring also to FIG. 8, the water gun 100 has a slightly differentconstruction, in that the water passage or tube 133 has been omittedsuch that the front chamber 131 is no longer connected to the rearchamber 132. The front chamber 131 remains part of the reservoir 130 byreason of the bladder 141 inside it, which is in communication with(i.e. connected to) the rear chamber 132 via the pump 142/143 andassociated pipes 71 and 72. Also, the bladder 141 holds a considerableamount of water when the gun 100 is fully charged. Looking at adifferent angle, the bladder 141 acts as a front chamber of thereservoir 130 or may be regarded as such.

For the reason that the bladder 141 can hold a comparable amount ofwater as the front chamber 131 when it is fully expanded, the frontchamber 131 may itself be cut away from the reservoir 130, as is shownin FIG. 8.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious tothose skilled in the art of toy gun design, manufacture and use, shouldnot be considered as beyond the scope as specified in the appendedclaims.

For example, whilst the specific embodiment 100 has two, front and rearwater chambers 131 and 132, there can be three (or more) chambers in adifferent embodiment with a larger chamber in the front portion of thegun body and two smaller chambers in the rear portion, and the twosmaller chambers add up to approximately the same volume as the largerchamber for balancing weight on opposite sides of the handgrip in themiddle, especially when the chambers are full of water.

1. A water toy gun comprising: a barrel including a nozzle; a handgripon the barrel, the handgrip including a trigger; a reservoir in thebarrel for containing water; and a manually-operated pressurizing deviceassociated with the barrel for increasing the pressure of water in thereservoir to thereby eject water out via the nozzle upon pressing of thetrigger; wherein the barrel has a front barrel portion including thenozzle and a rear barrel portion; the reservoir has a front chamberprovided in the front barrel portion and a rear chamber provided in therear barrel portion; and the handgrip is located at a position betweenthe front and rear barrel portions to assist in balancing the weight ofwater in the front and rear chambers.
 2. The water toy gun as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the front and rear chambers are interconnected by awater passage.
 3. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 2, wherein thewater passage has a size considerably smaller than that of the front andrear chambers.
 4. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein thepressurizing device has a resiliently deformable bladder connected tothe nozzle and includes a piston-in-cylinder, the cylinder having afirst end into which the piston slidably extends and a second endconnected to the reservoir and bladder for communication therewith via avalve assembly, the valve assembly being arranged to enable dischargingof water from the reservoir upon sliding of the piston relative to thecylinder in one direction and to enable charging of water into thebladder upon sliding of the piston relative to the cylinder in anopposite direction, the water in the bladder being ejected out via thenozzle upon pressing of the trigger as the bladder contracts.
 5. Thewater toy gun as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bladder is located inthe front chamber.
 6. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 5, whereinthe rear chamber has an opening via which the reservoir is to be filledwith water, the opening being closable by a stopper.
 7. The water toygun as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second end of the cylinder isconnected to the rear chamber.
 8. The water toy gun as claimed in claim4, wherein the valve assembly comprises a first valve in the connectionof the second end of the cylinder to the reservoir and a second valve inthe connection of the second end of the cylinder to the bladder.
 9. Thewater toy gun as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one of the firstand second valves comprises a spring-loaded valve.
 10. The water toy gunas claimed in claim 4, wherein the piston-in-cylinder extends across andunderneath the front and rear chambers.
 11. The water toy gun as claimedin claim 1, wherein the nozzle is controlled by a valve operable by thetrigger which is spring-loaded to normally close the valve.